Film fans are in the heart of the festival season. One of the most prolific festivals coming up soon is Cannes, and now we know another film that will be making its debut at the festival in May. Reported exclusively by Variety, George Miller’s next directed film Three Thousand Years of Longing will premiere at Cannes.
Specific details on the film are being kept under wraps, but this is being pegged as a fantasy-romance-drama. The story centers around “the encounter between a scholar and a djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. Their conversation, in a hotel room in Istanbul, leads to consequences neither would have expected.” The film is also notable for starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.
Miller himself has previously described the film as dialogue-driven and “anti-Mad Max”. However, this is still a film with a few action sequences and this intriguing tale has a budget of around $60 million. The film premiering at this festival make sense as The director and Swinton are Cannes regulars. Swinton appeared in five films at the festival and Miller served as the Cannes jury president in 2016. Also, Miller’s last film Mad Max: Fury Road premiered at the festival in 2015.
MGM, the studio perhaps best known for James Bond, has the North American distribution rights for the project through its United Artists Releasing label. The film is being produced by Doug Mitchell and co-produced by Victor Hadida at Metropolitan FilmExport. Hadida will also distribute the film in France and Sunac Culture has the Chinese distribution rights.
Miller is best known for his four action packed Mad Max films, but the director's filmography is full of many conflicting tones. The director has gone from action heavy films like The Road Warrior to children's films like Babe and the two Happy Feet films to then return to his action roots in the critically acclaimed Fury Road. Miller has a great range and is a director of many talents. While fans wait for the famous director's Mad Max prequel Furiosa, it will be interesting to see what Miller will bring tonally to this unique sounding romance.
The Cannes Film Festival is running from May 17-28, 2022 which will be the festival's 75th anniversary. Three Thousand Years of Longing is the third US film confirmed for this particular festival. It joins the highly anticipated Tom Cruise starring sequel Top Gun: Maverick and Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. We are sure to hear more news about additional films joining the Cannes line up in the coming weeks, but given Miller’s explosive return to Mad Max, it is safe to assume Three Thousand Years of Longing will be a highlight of the festival.